Improvement in refrigerator-cars



UNTTED STATES PATENT riaicril ALOIS THOMA, OF HBOKEN, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN REFRIGERTOR-CARS. l

Specification forming part of Lettere Patent N o. 171,591, dated December 28, 1875; application tiled December 9,1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ALoIs THOMA, of Hoboken, in the county of vHudson and State of New Jersey, 'have invented a new and Improved Ret'rigerator-Gar, which invention is fully described in the following specification, reference bein g had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l'represents a longitudinal vertical section of my car. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section in the plane m Fig. 1. Fig.4 is a similar section in the plane y y, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a side view.

The remaining figures are details, which will be referred to as the description progresses.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to a railroad-car, which is air and water tight, and the sides, top, and bottom of which are protected by soluble glass, felt, and several layers of boards, so as to eX- clude all influence of the external atmosphere,- and to prevent the escape of cold air from the interior of the car. Pure fresh air can be made to circulate through the ice-chamber and through the provision-chamber, and a circulationof the air in the interior of the car can be produced throughthese chambers, and

through an intermediate filtering-vessel filled with charcoal to retain the offensive gases which may become mixed with the air. rThe provision-chamber` is separated from the icechamber by a perfectly insulating partition provided with apertures and gates, whereby the communication between the two chambers can be regulated, and the consumption of ice can be controlled.

The circulation of the airis produced by a fan-blower, which receives its motion from one of the axles of the car, and the 'motion of which is controlled by a reversing gear and clutch,'so that it can be accomodated to the direction in which the car moves, or that it can be stopped whenever desirable.

The interior of my car is divided in two unequal compartments, A B, the compartment A being intended for the provision-chamber, and the compartment B for the ice-chamber. These compartments are separated from each other by the partition a, which is air-tight,

and which, by its peculiar construction, forms a perfect insulator for heat and cold.

The body of my car is different in its construction from ordinary cars, inasmuch as the uprights b areconnected simply by horizontal braces c, which are secured by any suit.- able means. rI he outside shell of my car is formed of boards d, as usual, which are painted with a coat of very light paint, so as to reduce the action of the suns rays to a minimum.

The inner surfaceof these boardsis coated with a water and air tight varnish, which I prepare particularly for this purpose, and on this coat of varnish I place a sheet, c, of paper, (see Fig. 8,) which is also coated with the same kind of varnish. After the varnish has fully dried and hardened, I secure on the paper suitable strips or supports on which are nailed boards f of very porous' wood, said boards having been previously coated on both sides with a strong solution of soluble glass. These boards are secured in oblique positions, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, so that they act as braces,'and impart to the car a certain degree of firmness.

It is a well-known fact that glass is one of the worst conductors of heat, and by the application of av coat of soluble glass to the boards f, therefore, these boards are converted into the best possible insulatorsfor heat and cold. Furthermore, by the application ot' the soluble glass to the porous boards f, the air contained in the pores of the Wood becomes confined therein, and the insulating quality of said boards is still further increased. The space g between the boards d and f is lled up with a pulverized vitreous slag, which is 'converted into a thin pasty mass, by mixing it with a solution of soluble glass, and which, when hardened, forms a vitreous mass, which proves to be a perfect insulator for heat and cold, but instead of such vitreous mass, other bad conductors of heat may be substituted, such as disintegrated moss, welldried spent tan, or felt of cows hair.

After the boards f have been secured in position another coat of soluble glass is applied, care being taken to fill up all cracks and joints. A layer, h, of felti, one inch thick, is then secured to the iiner surface ot' said boards, and

on this layer I nail boards i, which are coated provision-chamber is filled with meat, theevoinside and outside with soluble glass.

The bottom of my car is formed of the frame k, on which is secured a layer, l, of two-inch boards. These boards are coated with 'the varnish above mentioned; then a layer of paper is applied, the same as on the side walls, and on the paper is placed a layer, m, ot felt, on which are nailed boards n, coated on both sides with soluble glass.

The roof of my car is constructed of rafters 0, Fig. 10, on which are secured the boards p.

These are painted on the outside with my air and water tight varnish, and on them is placed a layer, r, of paper, which is also painted with my varnish. On this layer is placed the roof s`, of galvanized sheet metal, which is iirmly nailed down, and finally painted with a veryl light oil paint. 0n the inside the boards p are also provided with a coat of varnish, 0n`which is placed a layer ot paper. On this paperare secured suitable supports for boards u, which have been previously coated carefully with soluble glass. The space c is filled up with a badconductor of heat. On the boards u is secured a layer, t, of felt, and then a layer, w, of boards, is applied, which are coated on both sides with soluble glass. The doors :v0 are made precisely like the sides of the car, and on` their inner surfaces, near their edges, are secured strips y of india-rubber, so that when theyare pressed up against the sides of the car byrneans of screws z, tight joints will be produced. y

The ice-chamber B is constructed as follows: The ice is placed on the wooden grate a. The floor is covered with sheetzinc, which catches the small quantity of water iiowing ofi' from the ice. This water is carried oi' through a suitable waste-pipe, d', which is provided with a trap or si phon to prevent the entrance of air.

The communication between the provisionchamber .A and the ice-chamber B is effected by openings e1, which may be closed by gates f1! The "ice is introduced through a door, g1, which is constructed like the doors w", and which can be closed tight by means of screws. In the upper part of the ice-chamber is situated a fan-blower, hf, which receives its niotion from the axle i. It ,sucks in the cold air from the ice'chamber, and expels it through the pipe k into the provision-chamber. This pipe has openings l m n', through which a portion of the air escapes, while the `largest part of said air passes `out through the open end o' of said pipe. As the ventilator sucks in the air from the ice-chamber and expels it into the provision-chamber, the air must return through the apertures el after the same has circulated through the provision-cham ber, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1.

In frontof the aperture el is placed a box, p',

- of wire-netting, which is filled with dry charcoal. If the air in passing through the pro" vision-chamber becomes contaminated with offensive gases, such gases are absorbed by the charcoal, and the air is kept pure. Ifthe lntion of offensive gases takes place particularly on the first day, and then the apertures c1 areA closed by the gates f l, the openings q in the ice-chamberand r in the provisionchamber are opened, and the fan-blower is set in motion. In a short time, by the circulation of fresh cold air, the gases are driven out, and the openings g r are then closed by suitable stoppers.

The temperature in the chambers A and B can be read o' by thethermometers.

Thewalls of my car, particularly by the action of the soluble glass applied to the boards,

ed on suitable shelves, or suspendedjfrom hooks provided for this purpose. V

The car rests upon trucks of the ordinary or any suitable construction. On the axle t",

from which motion is to be` imparted ',tolthel fan-blower, is mounted apulley, t0', from which motion is imparted to a pulley,"y;, by means of a belt, `Both these pulleys arewide,\`so

that the motion is not disturbed by the changes in the position of the truck toward theibody` ofthe car which take place in passing over curves or swtchesp By these changes, ``and by the rising and falling motion `0f1` the car,

caused by jars or shocks,the distance be` gtween the pulleys w and y' changes, fand for i this reason a roller, z', is pressedgupfagainst the belt by two springs, a?, so that said `belt retains its proper tension at all times. l `A suit` able reversing-gear, b2, is applied, so that by n shifting this gear, theimotion imparted `to the fan-blower willztake place in'one and the-saine 1 direction, whether the carrunslbackward'or forward. riheclutch d2 can ibe moved bythe llever e2, so that the gears f" or `g2 are altermately setin motion. The fgears fzflignl` move in the' direction of the arrows marked Ithereon, while the motion` of the wheels gzis :in the opposite direction. `By moving the clutch to au intermediate position`,`asshown in Fig. `3,tl1`e fanlblower is thrownfoutof gear i and no motionis impartedtoit.` y My car is intended particularlyfor the ftransportationof meat.`

After the provision-` fchamber has been filled with meat, the doors are closed and thefice-chamber' issupplied iwith ice. `If desired, the fan-blower ycanl be i lset in motion by hand or other power before' lthe car starts, so as to reducet-he temperature in the provision-chamber to the desired point During the passage, the temperature in the i car is kept at from 440 to 460 Fahrenheiti 1 When this temperature has been attained the fan-blower is stopped, and it is only set Agoing at proper intervals to be determined bythe thermometer sf. The ice chamber is large enough to receive a vsufficient supply of ice for a long journey.

On the arrival at the point of destination, the meat is brought into cool, wellventilated rooms, and it can be kept. therein for several d ays.

My car can also be used With advantage for the transportation of fruit, vegetables, and other materials which are liable to be spoiled by changes in the temperature.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A non-conducting structure for the tops, bottoms, sides, or partitions of refrigerating apparatus, consisting of boards d, coated with an air and Water tight varnish, a layer, e, of

Water and air tight paper, a layer, g, of felt, a layer, f, of boards, coated on both sides lwith Water-glass, all combined substantially in the manner set forth. j

2. The combination, in a railroad-car, of chambers A B, insulating-partition a, openings e, gates f1, pipe k', fan-blower h', axle fi', and reversing-gear b2, all constructed. and operating substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claimthe foregoing I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 7th day of December, 1875.

ALOIS THOMA. [L. S.]

Witnesses:

W. HAUFF, E. F. KAsTENHUBER. 

